Recent News
Students present at the 43rd Annual Social Science Student Symposium
May 7, 2018
Three Political Science students, Mira Seyal, Connor Hennessey-Niland, and Ashley Therien presented their research at the 43rd Annual Social Science Student Symposium at Cal State Long Beach over the weekend. The CSU SSRIC Social Science Student Symposium (S4) is modeled on professional conferences in the social sciences where students, from all CSU campuses and California community colleges, in all areas of the social sciences, are able to present their research to their peers.
- Mira Seyal. "The Human Rights Movement: A Failure to Secure Group Rights"
- Connor Hennessey-Niland. "Regional Hegemony in the Arctic: The Push for Arctic Dominance"
- Ashley Therien. "Exploring New Frontiers: Space Is Not Apolitical"
MUN New York and LA
May 3, 2018
2018 Cal Poly Model United Nations Students Travel to New York and LA
New York Model UN
UCLA Model UN
The Cal Poly Model United Nations team spent a weekend in Hollywood participating in UCLA’s 13th annual Model UN conference. Students represented a variety of countries on a multitude of topics. These included Saudi Arabia on the topic of protecting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, a state councilor of China on the topic of the One Belt, One Road Initiative, and South Africa on the topic of artificial intelligence and humanitarian aid. The students enjoyed exploring Universal City Walk as well as local Hollywood sites. Students were privileged to hear Karen Richardson, who previously served as a state policy advisor for former President Obama, and currently works in the leadership of the Time’s Up movement, speak at LAMUN’s opening ceremonies.
Students Testify in Sacramento
Apr 24, 2018
Students from the California Bill Project testified before the Committee on Higher Education in the California State Assembly in support of their bill (AB 2385) on Tuesday, 24 April 2018. You can listen or watch the hearing or read the information sheet for AB 2385. Students traveled to Sacramento to advocate their support for the bill they researched and drafted on textbook transparency. Lindsey Wallace, Ivana Medina, and Chase Dean testified during the hearing.
MPP Students Present at WPSA Conference
Mar 29, 2018
Congratulations to MPP students Megan Marques, Philip Goodwin and Kristin Ventresca for their performances at the 2018 Western Political Science Association conference!
Mock Trial wins awards at UC Irvine Tournament
Jan 31, 2018
Congratulations to Cal Poly’s Mock Trial A and B Teams for their awesome performance at UCI this past weekend. Jesse Quiroz and Elizabeth Paxson brought home attorney awards and Lauren Turner and Garrett Rutherford earned witness awards!
Congratulations Fall 2017 Graduates!
Dec 12, 2017
(Photo credit, Victoria Tonikian 2017)
The faculty and staff of the Political Science Department congratulate the Fall 2017 Graduates! We are immensely proud of your work and accomplishments! Please keep in touch and let us know where your next step takes you.
A Partner in Learn by Doing
Nov 22, 2017
Alumnus Tim Humphreys gives back to create more Learn by Doing opportunities for Cal Poly political science students.
Mock Trial Accrues Awards With Alacrity
Nov 14, 2017
Cal Poly Mock Trial enjoyed another successful weekend competing at an invitational tournament. At UC Irvine’s Anteater Invitational, three Cal Poly teams earned invitations and competed against some of the best teams in California and Arizona.
Lauren Turner (ENGL) and Teagan Allen (ARCE) earned “Top Witness” awards, while Marco Tueros (POLS) took home a “Top Attorney” award. Cal Poly Coach, Justin Cooley, also took home the tournament’s coveted “Best Judge” award.
Next week, the Mustang Mockers will be in action again at UCSD’s Wlodarczyk Invitational Tournament.
Cal Poly Named California’s Best Public-Master’s University by Forbes
Aug 16, 2017
Cal Poly is the best public-master’s university in California, and its graduates are among the highest-earning in the nation, according to Forbes’ 2017 Top Colleges rankings. Cal Poly was listed seventh in the state on the America’s Top Colleges list among public universities, behind first-place UC Berkeley (29th overall) and University of California campuses at Los Angeles (48th), Santa Barbara (83rd), San Diego (93rd), Davis (102nd) and Irvine (106th) — all highly active research institutions that offer doctorate degrees as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Cal Poly ranked 38th among all public universities in the nation. Read more here.
Dr. Matthew Moore Appears on Research on Religion Podcast
Jun 19, 2017
Dr. Matthew Moore recently appeared on the weekly podcast series Research on Religion at www.researchonreligion.org where he talks about Buddhism and the Robopocalypse. This interview tackled some pretty interesting philosophical questions such as "can artificial intelligence meditate?" as well as a number of different policy approaches to “near-future technology.”